Secrets
by authoramandamarie
Summary: Nothing stays secret for long, especially betrayal...


Harry sat up in bed, the sweat dripped off the end of his nose like he had just stepped out of the shower. He couldn't keep going this way, he had to tell him. But, how did you tell your best friend you were in love with the same girl he loved? He shook his head, looking out into the blur that was his room. His four-post bed was usually warm, but tonight it gave him the chills. He found his glasses and slipped his feet into his slippers, sliding across the room without making a sound.

The door gave a small creak, and heart-pounding he looked back to see if he had disturbed his roommates. Dean rolled over as Seamus gave a loud snort. Neville wiped the drool off of his mouth before pulling his duvet over him farther, and Ron mumbled something about spiders. It made Harry laugh; Ron was such a wimp when it came to spiders. Letting out a sigh of relief, Harry squeezed out the door and shut it softly.

Slowly he made his way down the dormitory stairs, remembering to step over the fourth one down as it usually let out a wail loud enough to wake up the castle ghosts. It was on the last step he froze, unable to move. The pure sight of her took his breath away. Instinctively he ran his fingers through his unruly black hair. It made no difference; his hair usually did whatever it wanted to anyway. He blinked his green eyes and swallowed the uncomfortable lump that had formed in his throat. Wishing his heart would slow down, Harry stepped into the fire-light in the common room.

She was usually quite aware of sounds and anything out of the ordinary around her, so it didn't surprise Harry one bit when she waved over her shoulder. She had not torn her eyes away from her book as he sat down at her feet. "How did you know it was me?"

"I have the map. You lent it to me, remember?" She pointed to a worn-looking bit of parchment sitting open across her lap. It was a map of the school, and it was rather special. It showed exactly who the occupants of the castle were, and where they were all located. Harry looked at the spot in the map that was currently open and saw two dots at the edge of their common room, one with her name and one with his. "You can have it back now if you like; I've done what I need to."

Harry tapped the parchment with his wand and muttered "Mischief managed." Slowly everything vanished on the parchment as if an invisible eraser was wiping it clean. He folded it carefully and slipped it into his pocket. "What exactly were you doing, anyway?"

She blinked her big brown eyes and finally tore them away from her book. She pulled her bushy brown hair behind her shoulders. Harry's eyes fell to her neck. How he wanted to…. "I was spying."

Harry tore his eyes away from her bare skin and looked into her eyes. "Spying?" It was a valiant effort, but she could tell there were other things on his mind. She smirked.

"Yes, spying." She marked her page in her book and set it on the end table behind her. She turned back and their eyes met. Harry's heart skipped, and he thought his stomach was going to burst out of his middle.

"On who?"

She smirked even bigger. "On you." Harry's eyes widened as she leaned forward. "I was spying on you to know when to be down here so I could do this." There was no time to react; her lips were on his and Harry sank into a deep ocean, one that he never wanted to come out of. It was a heavenly sensation and he soaked up the scent of her hair. As she pulled away he felt nauseous. How on earth was he going to tell Ron?

***

Ron watched her from across the table. He wanted to tell her so bad, but there were so many people around him. He settled for stuffing another round of pudding in his mouth. When she finally got up he took a big gulp of pumpkin juice and groaned.

"What's with you?" Harry pushed his plate back and stared at Ron. Ron looked up sadly into his best friend's face, running his hand through his crimson hair.

"I've got to tell her, I just don't know how."

"Tell who?"

Ron dropped his jaw as though he thought Harry mad. "Who? Who? What do you mean who?" Harry just stared at him. "Hermione of course!"

Harry's face turned red, but Ron didn't notice. "Tell her what?" He turned away from his red-headed friend and took another pudding from the middle of the table. He couldn't, however, hide that way again; the left-over food had just vanished.

"I love her, Harry!" Harry threw a bit of pudding into his mouth. "She's amazing. Let's face it, she's got more brains than I do! If there's a war coming I want to tell her now so I can enjoy it with her." Ron eyed the pudding. Harry had just shoved the last bite in his mouth. "Wow, mate, think you ate it fast enough?"

Harry shrugged and finished his pumpkin juice. He stood up; trying to hide his scarlet face from him, but Ron spotted it. "Are you blushing, Harry?" Harry didn't answer, but kept going. Ron rushed after him. "Help me tell her."

Harry shook his head, casting his green eyes to the floor. "I don't think I can do that." Ron tugged on his arm and stopped him, turning Harry to face him. "I'm going down to Hagrid's; you coming?"

Ron shook his head, noticing that Harry was no longer looking at him, but somewhere Ron's shoulder. "Help me tell Hermione I love her." When Harry didn't answer, Ron turned to see what was so interesting. Excitement filled him at first as he found Hermione looking their way. She had her book-bag resting on her shoulder and a small smile on her beautiful face. But she wasn't looking at Ron, she was looking at…Harry? The red-head turned back to his best friend's face and realized, at last, what had been going on. Anger filled him, and he punched his best friend in the nose. Harry dropped to the ground, holding his bleeding nose. "I hope you two will be very happy together!!!"


End file.
